Power 5 Sleepers

I’ve written previews for the ACC, BIG10, Big12, PAC 12, and SEC.  In all my previews, I’ve given my collection of favorites, sleepers, and other teams I’m looking at this season (These are my personal rankings, so if you disagree I’d love to hear why).  If you have any questions for how I feel about a team or why you don’t see a team you like, please refer to the hyperlinks above.

The basic rules for being a sleeper pick are:

1. You can’t be in the top 3 odds to win the conference or a minimum of +700.
2. You can’t be the favorite to win your division. 
3. A sleeper only has to have the ability to get to that team’s respective Conference Championship. (If they have an easier path to win their division, that is taken into consideration as well)

*Since the Big 12 doesn’t have divisions, only the first rule applies.

Here are all the sleepers and their odds to win their conference and division:

Georgia Tech: +3500 ACC/ +800 Coastal Division

Virginia Tech: +1500 ACC/ +250 Coastal Division

Boston College: +5000 ACC/ +2400 Atlantic Division

Michigan State: +800 BIG 10/ +550 East Division

Iowa: +2200 BIG 10/ +750 West Division

Northwestern: +4500 BIG 10/ +1200 West Division

TCU: +700 Big 12

West Virginia: +700 Big 12

Utah: +1500 Pac-12/ +400 South Divsion

Mississippi State: +1400 SEC/ +750 West Division

Missouri: +3000 SEC/ +750 East Division

South Carolina: +3300 SEC/ +750 East Division

Here are all of sleepers’ odds to win the National Championship, according to Bovada.lv:

1. Michigan State: +3500
2. Mississippi State: +12500
3. West Virginia: +12500
4. Virginia Tech: +12500
5. TCU: +17500
6. South Carolina: +20000
7. Utah: +30000
8. Iowa: +12000
9. Missouri: +40000
10. Boston College: +900000
11. Georgia Tech: +75000
12. Northwestern: +90000

Would I bet money on any of these teams to win the National Championship?  Probably not.  However, there are some good odds for a team like Utah to make a run to the playoff and get lucky or Mississippi State if you truly believe they can win the SEC.  The basic breakdown for a sleeper boils down to are people talking about them or are they being overlooked because of the heavyweights that lie in their path.

Sometimes a team doesn’t have to be better than the division favorite to win the division.  Say for instance BC loses to Clemson, yet Clemson loses to NC State and Florida State.  BC could finish ahead of Clemson and not even have to beat them.  We’ve seen it time and time again with teams and if your sleeping on someone, you just might miss it.

**All Odds within this article come from Bovada.lv

***https://www.si.com/nfl/2014/11/10/sports-books-get-crushed-week-11